Butternut Squash Cornbread Stuffing
21 Nov 2011 Leave a Comment
in Home Cooking, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: butternut squash, celery, comfort food, cornbread, entertaining, garlic, mushroom, onions, red pepper, sides, stuffing, thanksgiving, vegan, vegetarian
I’m so sorry to have gone MIA for so long! It was a crazy couple of months and then we went on a fabulous whirlwind tour of Australia 
So no complaining here but I am happy to be back home and back in the kitchen!! And just in time for an awesome Thanksgiving recipe!!
I have always Loved the stuffing part of the meal so this dish is pretty perfect. It has all the carby goodness of the cornbread but much more veggies than a normal stuffing, so you can even enjoy this as a great fall meal. Yum! And I just love roasted squash! Plus this dish is also really low in fat compared to all the butter laden stuffing recipes out there
What are your favorite vegetarian Thanksgiving recipes/dishes? I would love to hear from you!!
Butternut Squash Cornbread Stuffing
Serves 8 as Main Dish or 16 as Side Dish
- 1 butternut squash (love buying the pre-chopped!!), cut into 1/2″ pieces
- 2 Tbsp. canola oil
- 2 onions, diced
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 3-4 celery stalks, diced
- 1 lb. button mushrooms, diced
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 14 ounce bag cornbread stuffing
- 2 cups “chicken” flavored veggie broth
- salt
Heat oven to 400°F. Spray sheet or roasting pan (I needed 2 pans – but I also made extra squash for buttnernut mash- nice to be able to double duty the recipe!) Spray pan with nonstick cooking spray and roast squash for 25 minutes. Rotate squash and cook for an additional 20 minutes. Set aside and reduce heat to 350°F.
In a saute pan or wok – heat canola oil and cook onions, pepper, celery and mushrooms until onion is translucent. Add garlic, cook for one minute more and remove from heat.
Combine squash, veggies, broth and cornbread in large bowl. Place in a baking dish/roasting pan (use the same 1 or 2 that you roasted squash in) and cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350°F for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 10 minutes. Sprinkle with salt to taste and enjoy
Zucchini and Green Zebra Tomato Lasagne with Basil-Pistachio Pesto
18 Aug 2011 Leave a Comment
in Raw Vegan Recipes, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: agave, basil, comfort food, entertaining, green, lemon, nutritional yeast, olive oil, onions, pignoli, pine nuts, pistachios, raw, sauces, tomatoes, vegan, vegetarian, zucchini, Zucchini Pasta
I have made this dish many times over the last couple of years, sorry for waiting so long to share it with you! It is one of my faves!! And you can use each component on its own in other dishes as well SO versatile and deelish! A total crowd pleaser – beautiful and amazing! Plus it has been one of their top sellers at the restaurant for years!
Zucchini and Green Zebra Tomato Lasagne with Basil-Pistachio Pesto
Recipe by Matthew Kenney of Pure Food and Wine
Serves 6
Lemon-Pignoli “Ricotta”
2 cups raw pignoli nuts, soaked in water for at least 1 hour
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon sea salt
6 tablespoons water
Place the pignoli, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, and salt in a food processor, and pulse a few times, until thoroughly combined. Gradually add water, and pulse until the texture becomes fluffy, like ricotta. Place in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside.
Tomato Sauce
2 cups good-quality sun-dried tomatoes (dry-packed), soaked in water for at least 2 hours
1 medium ripe tomato, diced
1/4 small onion, chopped
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon agave
2 teaspoons sea salt
Pinch hot-pepper flakes
Place all ingredients in a Vita-mix or high speed blender, and process until smooth.
Basil-Pistachio Pesto
2 cups packed basil leaves
1/2 cup raw pistachios
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
Pinch freshly ground black pepper
Place all ingredients in a Vita-mix or food processor and process until well combined but still slightly chunky.
Lasagne
3 medium zucchini, ends trimmed
3 medium green-zebra tomatoes (or other heirloom variety)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh oregano
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
Pinch of sea salt and fresh pepper
Garnish: whole basil leaves
- Using a mandoline or vegetable peeler, shave zucchini lengthwise into very thin slices, then cut in half crosswise. Cut the tomatoes in half, and each half into thin slices.
- Line the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with two layers of zucchini slices. Brush the zucchini lightly with olive oil, spread 1/3 of the tomato sauce over it, and top with small dollops of “ricotta” and pesto, using 1/3 of each. Layer on 1/3 of the tomato slices, and sprinkle with 1/3 of the oregano and thyme. Add another double layer of zucchini and repeat twice more with the tomato sauce, pesto, ricotta, tomato slices, and herbs. Serve immediately, or cover with plastic and let sit at room temperature for a few hours. Garnish with basil. (or make individual portions by layering into square shapes on plates)
Creamy Basil Dip
09 Jun 2011 6 Comments
in Raw Vegan Recipes, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: Cashews, dip, dressing, entertaining, green, h'orderves, nutritional yeast, quick and easy, raw, snack, vegan, vegetarian
This was super yummy and sooo quick and easy to make. Love it! I love making meals that I can “snack” while eating. This was also great to have over for company. Yum, vegan, creamy and deelish!
Creamy Basil Dip
1 cup of cashews
1/2 cup water
2 garlic cloves
1 lemon, juiced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon onion powder
A dash of coarse black pepper
One big handful of fresh basil, leaves only (most of one bunch)
Blend all ingredients except the basil until smooth and creamy. Then add basil and pulse – you still want there to be green flecks in the sauce.
Nina’s Yukon gold potato pancakes with seaweed “caviar” and horseradish “creme fraiche”
01 Jun 2011 4 Comments
in Home Cooking, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: breakfast, comfort food, cream, entertaining, sides, snack, tofu, Tofutti, vegan, vegetarian
A frugal and cruelty free find for everyday decadence. Inspired, I created a recipe for it that evening. It is boyfriend tested and approved. Before you lament that you don’t live near a Swedish furniture palace, search for “vegan caviar” online. There are countless options. I even came across a Divine sounding truffled vegan caviar.- Prepare mashed potatoes (Yukon gold is far superior because of creamy texture and rich flavor). I trust you can prepare mashed potatoes, though here are a few tips: Salt potatoes after boiling. Use unsweetened soy milk and only the tiniest amount since you want a very stiff mash which you can handle to mold the pancake. For flavor add Earth Balance vegan margarine.
- Next prepare the “creme fraiche” by adding jarred/fresh horseradish and a pinch of salt to Tofutti brand sour cream. Set aside and allow flavors to meld.
- Meanwhile form mashies into 1/2″ rounds and dredge in flour. Pan fry over low heat for about 2 min. on each side.
- Final step is to plate. Carefully remove pancake from skillet and top with “creme fraiche”, a teaspoonful of “caviar”, a sprinkle of salt and a turn of fresh black pepper. For a special; occasion or extra decadence, serve with a flute of champagne. My apologize for the poor quality photo. We were so eager to sample that I didn’t take the time to take a proper photo. Bon Appetit!
Vegan Dessert Bars
30 May 2011 2 Comments
in Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: baking, chocolate, comfort food, cookies, dessert, entertaining, snack, vegan, vegetarian
These are amazing! I have been making and impressing people for years with them!!! And we all know that I rarely repeat a recipe so these must be amazing hahah
Vegan Blondies / Dessert Bars
25 squares-ish
- 1 5/8 sticks of Earth Balance, melted (Love that they make the sticks of Earth Balance!!)
- 1 pound light brown sugar
- 3 vegan egg replacer
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 3/4 cups white flour
- 2 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup chopped nuts (I use half pecans and half walnuts)
- 1 12 ounce bag vegan chocolate chips
- In a bowl, combine melted Earth Balance and brown sugar. Let cool.
- Pre-heat oven to 350F.
- Add the egg replacer and the vanilla, mix well.
- In another bowl, add the dry ingredients together, mix and then add to the liquid mixture. Mix everything thoroughly.
- Spread into a greased 13″x9″ pan.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool and cut into squares, and enjoy!!!
All Gone!!
Kim’s Vegan Sugar Cookies
28 Apr 2011 2 Comments
in Home Cooking, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: almond milk, comfort food, cookies, cream, dessert, Ener-G, entertaining, guest post, snack, soy, Tofutti, vegan, vegetarian
My wonderful friend and reader, Kim, has shared some really great recipes with me in the past. I am super excited to have her Guest Post here These cookies look absolutely amazing!!!! I think these would be great for any holiday or event as they are so versatile!! YUM!!!!
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So I always find family holidays a bit tough because they always revolve around candy and sweet baked goods. So every year I usually try out a new recipe of some sort to see how it comes out and to test it on my family. My goal is to find the perfect vegan holiday recipe that not only will I enjoy, but my family will as well (and they are picky eaters). So I found this recipe in VegNews and decided to give it a go. Not only did it come out fantastic but my family can’t get enough of them. My Grandmother and myself were up to our elbows in cookies for Easter, with frosting everywhere. We spent a good amount of time trying to design the perfect cookie to be photographed, but got so tired by the end of the night that we only shot a few cookies and decided that we would just slap some frosting on the rest for the family. They are so delicious that we didn’t think the family would mind or notice. Hope that you enjoy this recipe as much as me and my family does.
Vegan Sugar Cookies
For the cookies:
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup vegan margarine, softened
3 teaspoons ener-g egg replacer, mixed with 1/4 cup water
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup vegan sour cream
4 1/3 cups flour
2 teaspoons lemon zest
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
For the frosting:
1/4 cup vegan margarine
3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons soymilk (I use almond milk)
1 teaspoon lemon zest
(for the frosting I think they messed up the amount of milk. It makes
a crumbly consistency so i usually follow it and once it’s mixed I
slowly pour in more milk until it becomes a nice smooth frosting)
- To prepare cookies, preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl cream margarine and sugar until fluffy. Add egg replacer, vanilla, and sour cream and mix well.
- In a separate bowl, mix flour, lemon zest, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add dry mixture to wet
- Mix for 1 to 2 minutes or until combined then roll dough into large ball, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes
- Remove dough from fridge and roll out 1/2 inch thick on floured board. Cut using cookie cutters. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes until golden. Allow to cool before frosting.
- For frosting mix all ingredients with mixer on medium speed until creamy and soft (will need to add more milk I have yet to calculate how much I usually add so just eye it)
- This makes a lot of cookies and I usually put the dough in the freezer while each batch is in the oven so that while your waiting the dough doesn’t get too soft ( just don’t leave it too long or else you will have iced cookie dough)
And be warned these are addicting, be prepared to eat at least 5 before you even offer them to anyone else because they are that good. My grandmother ate at least 2 handfuls by Easter and she doesn’t usually eat that much sweets.
Vegan Passover 2011
26 Apr 2011 6 Comments
in Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: breakfast, comfort food, entertaining, jewish, Passover, quick and easy, quinoa, quinoa flakes, vegan, vegetarian
This Passover was extra special with an addition of some new recipes! YUM!!!
We always eat a lot of quinoa, salads and veggies. And of course I also get to have the treat of Matzah & Earth Balance. So simple, yet amazing of course!
Last year we tried these vegan matzah balls but they disintegrated when left in the broth. This year my friend Lisa Dawn has been experimenting for a few weeks for the perfect Passover recipes. Thanks to Lisa Dawn and to Nava Atlas for these new amazing Matzah Balls and Matzah Brei recipes!! And thanks to my Mom and Mother-in-Law for making these amazing matzah balls for us. And Michael and I loved the Brei! YUM!!!
Also check out these recipes as well
- Red Quinoa and Pumpkin Seed Stuffing – this quinoa is a year round loved recipe!
- Chopped “Liver” Spread
- I love Charoset (chopped walnuts, apples and wine – seriously what could be bad there??)
- Gluten -free “mac and cheese” recipe to come soon So good!
photo from http://lisaprojectvegan.blogspot.com since we didn't photo them from my Mom and Mother-in-Law
Matzah Balls
Makes: About 24
The main difference with these matzah balls are you don’t boil them, you bake them so they stay intact! The quinoa flakes bind them together and adds protein, how fabulous! These were amazing!!! And now I see what Lisa Dawn was saying how quinoa flakes are her new best friend!
1 cup quinoa flakes
2 cups boiling water
One box (2 packets) Streit’s or Maneschewitz Matzo Ball Mix
1/4 cup light vegetable oil (like safflower)
In a large mixing bowl, cover the quinoa flakes with the water. Let stand for 2 or 3 minutes. Stir in both packets of matzah meal mix along with the oil, and mix until well blended. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes. Just before baking, preheat the oven to 275º F. Roll the matzah meal mixture into approximately 1-inch balls; don’t pack them too firmly. Arrange on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, carefully turning the matzah balls after 10 minutes, until firm to the touch; don’t let them brown. If making ahead of time, let the matzah balls cool completely, then cover until needed. Warm them briefly in a medium oven and distribute them among the soup bowls, allowing 3 or 4 matzah balls per serving.
Vegan Matzah Brei
Makes 4 servings
Adapted from Nava Atlas and Lisa Dawn
I have only seen recipes for vegan mazah brei with tofu and was sooo happy when Lisa Dawn posted this recipe from Nava Atlas. More of our new best friend Quinoa Flakes! This was so good and I added the sugar so it tasted just like my mom’s growing up! YUM!
6 sheets of matzah, crumbled
1 cup quinoa flakes
4 cups boiling water
3 tablespoons Earth Balance
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/4 cup Sugar
Boil the water. In a bowl, mix the crumbled matzah and the quinoa flakes. Pour the hot water over it and let it sit for 3 to 4 minutes. It is ready when the water is absorbed. In a skillet, melt Earth Balance and pour the mixture in. Sort of flatten it down a little and sprinkle with salt and sugar. When it has been going for a few minutes, scramble it a little to give all sides a chance to crisp up. Just scramble for a few more minutes and then serve and Enjoy!
My 30th Birthday!
19 Apr 2011 Leave a Comment
in New York Highlights, Raw Desserts and Treats Tags: cake, chocolate, cookies, dessert, entertaining, snack, vegan, vegetarian
I LOVE Birthdays and I turned 30 last week! SO of course a fun reason to celebrate!
On Friday Night we celebrated at Friday Night Yoga Social! FNYS is an AMAZING class I teach with two unbelievable, inspiring and beautiful teachers and friends; Mimi and Angie. It was so perfect to be able to celebrate with many of our students and friends, such a special night as always! If you are ever in NYC on a Friday Night, come to our fun class!!
Saturday was more fun party time And of course since this was my party, there had to be yummy vegan food!
Terri’s delivered their SUPER YUMMY sandwiches. Michael and I LOVE all their Vegan sandwiches but seem to never get enough of the Vegan Bacon Cheddar Chicken Ranch sandwiches. See my review here from when they first opened. It was great to see all these non-vegans Loving these scrumptious sandwiches too, always fun of course! Sorry, I didn’t take any pictures. But go there yourself and try these sandwiches out, so good!
I also had a crudité platter from Whole Foods. Of course a crudité platter would not normally get a honorable mention but this one was special because it had a super yummy Vegan Caramelized Onion Dip. The catering guy at Whole Foods Union Square, Mark, was Super awesome and so helpful! We went around the whole store to score the best vegan dip for the platter. Perfection!
I love my sweets and since it was a birthday party, there had to be a cake and then of course some more desserts I brought the deelish vegan brownie bites, chocolate chip cookies and oatmeal raisin cookies from BabyCakes. And the cake, oh the cake…. one of our faves, Chocolate Peanut Butter Bomb Cake from Vegan Treats… we bought it at Atlas since Vegan Treats is in PA, but they sell their AMAZING cakes and treats all over the city so thank goodness not hard to come up with. (pic below)
Then on another night Michael took me to Pure Food & Wine to celebrate just the two of us YUM!! And of course this meal had to end with the amazing Mint Sundae. (pic below)
Thanks to everyone who came out to celebrate with me and who sent Birthday Wishes!! Lots of love all around!!
Chocolate Peanut Butter Bomb Cake
Ugh Oh! This is a dangerous cake to have leftovers of! YUM!!
Mint Sundae from Pure Food & Wine
Lisa Dawn’s Vegan Stuffed Shells with Cashew Ricotta Cheese!!
28 Mar 2011 8 Comments
in New York Highlights, Raw Vegan Recipes, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: babies, Cashews, comfort food, entertaining, guest post, non-dairy cheese, pasta, quick and easy, raw, vegan, vegetarian
I am super excited about having my amazing friend Lisa Dawn Guest Blog!! She has just started her own fabulous blog, Lisa’s Project:Vegan with deelish vegan recipes which almost all take less than a half hour to make! She was the inspiration behind the Coconut Lentil Soup, which if you tried I know you loved! The Vegan Stuffed Shells with Cashew Ricotta Cheese below looks out of this world. I know I will be making this soon myself!! Thanks Lisa!
About Lisa Dawn: I am a vegan mom and wife and I love to cook. I became vegan over four years ago for several reasons – the health and welfare of the animals, myself, and that of the world. My husband has been vegan since he was a teenager and together we are raising our son vegan. It is a challenge to do so in this world but it makes it that much more fun to be creative and to cook delicious meals that people really enjoy. Everyone who joins us for a meal leaves fully satisfied and with a handful of recipes!
My cashew ricotta cheese is outstanding and I use it in a lot of dishes. But nothing beats stuffed shells! You can vary the filling (e.g., you can use butternut squash or just plain cashew ricotta). My family loves it! It is not as hard as you think to make this and it is very satisfying!
Stuffed Shells
Enjoy!
Artichoke Guacamole
20 Mar 2011 2 Comments
in Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: artichoke, dip, entertaining, Guacamole, h'orderves, quick and easy, sides, snack, vegan, vegetarian
I am not sure this is a guacamole but it is definitely an amazing bruschetta or dip of any kind. Very sophisticated flavors. We really really loved this. Such a fun snack or dinner with pita chips or crostini. Plus super low in fat and calories, which I love!
Artichoke Guacamole
adapted from The Olives Table by Todd English and Sally Sampson
Makes about 1-1/2 cups
1 can of artichoke bottoms, including stem
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
2 plum tomatoes, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon)
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1/3 cup chopped scallions
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1. Place artichoke bottoms in a small saucepan, cover with water, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until the artichokes are very soft, about 20 minutes. Drain.
2. When cool enough to handle, finely chop the artichokes and place in a medium-size mixing bowl. Add the onion, tomato, lemon juice, olive oil, sesame oil, scallions, salt, and pepper and gently mash with a fork.
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